Syria Rebels Advance in Battles; Opposition Tackles Rifts

By Ladane Nasseri and Nayla Razzouk -
Nov 5, 2012

Syrian rebels said they made headway
in battles against troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, as
opposition leaders abroad work on bridging rifts and forming a
united council 20 months after the start of the uprising.

The Free Syrian Army captured al-Tadamon neighborhood in
Damascus early today, Al-Arabiya news channel cited activists as
saying. Other parts of the capital’s suburbs, including the al-
Kodam, Nahr and Aisha neighborhoods, were attacked by Assad’s
forces as rebels fought to gain control, the U.K.-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said in an e-mailed statement.

Government troops killed 234 people across Syria yesterday,
including 100 in or around Damascus, the opposition Local
Coordination Committee said in an e-mailed release. The group
said 22 deaths in the capital resulted from government forces
shelling the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. More than 35,000
people have died in the conflict, according to the observatory.

Syrian opposition leaders will continue meetings in Doha
today to choose a front bearing more representation from within
Syria, as per a U.S.-backed initiative aimed at luring more
support for the uprising. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said today his country will host international working-
level talks in late November to discuss wider sanctions to
further isolate Assad.

Opposition Legitimacy

Opposition leader Riad Seif said yesterday that Syria’s
resistance groups should unite and that legitimacy will come
from being recognized by Syrians and the international
community. Seif is a founder of the “Damascus Declaration,” a
call by intellectuals for a peaceful democratic transition.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations and Arab League special
mediator to the Syrian conflict, met in Cairo yesterday with
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the head of the Arab
League, Nabil El-Arabi, Egypt’s state-run Middle East News
Agency reported. They discussed Brahimi’s efforts to solve the
crisis and to bridge the gap between the Arab countries and
Russia, MENA said.

El-Arabi told journalists they had talked about the
conflict but reached no agreement. Lavrov said there is no
military solution and that Russia’s priority is to stop the loss
of innocent lives by forcing a cease-fire and negotiations.

Brahimi said blood spilled every day wouldn’t lead to
victory for anyone and urged a political solution. Otherwise,
Syria’s crisis may spill over to neighboring countries, he said
at the news conference with El-Arabi and Lavrov.